Things I'm Thankful For - Hungary Edition

Hey Dear friends! I can't believe that I only have a few weeks left in Hungary, and a few days added to that before Christmas. These past few weeks of settling into a new country again have been a challenge and a blessing - I love new experiences, but this has been the first time I've had to start fresh in a while. But God is so good, and I've been able to learn so much while being here. 

I know Thanksgiving just passed, so this is my "Thanksgiving and Living in Hungary" thankful list!

• I am thankful for waking up to a dusting of snow when I look outside my window. Budapest doesn't get a lot of snow, but I couldn't be more thankful to just be able to see a bit of it again. Florida is great, but there is nothing like some hot cocoa while watching the snow fall outside. 

• I'm thankful for my Hungarian family and late-night grocery store runs. We've been doing quite a bit of baking, so late-night runs to the grocery store to get butter and flour have become a common occurrence. 

• I am thankful for the green bridge and the chain bridge that I can see in downtown Budapest whenever I take the tram. 

• I am thankful for my favorite bookstore and coffee shop downtown. I have allowed myself to buy too many books since being here, but, I still have one more to buy for my trip home before I leave. 

• I am thankful for the ICSB library and the sweet librarian who runs it. I love both reading and getting schoolwork done in there when I can. It has such a cozy atmosphere, especially since it is decorated for Christmas. 

• I'm thankful for the students that I've been able to teach in German class. I love it when they see me in the halls and say, "Guten Morgen," actually getting to practice the language that they're learning. Something that baffles me is that so many of the students at ICSB aren't American, so English isn't their first language, but they're still required to take a language in school. So, many of these students are tri-lingual before they graduate! Holy moly!

• I'm thankful for tiny voices singing Waymaker at the top of their lungs, first thing on a Tuesday morning. 

• I'm thankful for my Hungarian piano teacher and the funny vocabulary words I learn while taking lessons with her. She is my 12th or 13th piano teacher, and she is by far a favorite!

• I am thankful for late nights watching Gilmore Girls when it smells like fall candles in the house.

• I'm so thankful for technology that connects me to friends and family all over the world. I'm grateful for videos from Cora, voice memos from Alisa, text messages from the UK, and sweet messages from friends about the books that they're currently reading. 

• And lastly, I'm thankful for the time I have spent with the Lord recently. I got quite behind on my Bible-in-a-year plan, although, I think that at the pace I'm going I'll be able to finish it before December 31st! But I think it's always so special to go through books of the Bible that you haven't read in a long time and see thigns you never saw before. Like Jonah, for example, it's such a short book, but there is so much to learn from it. I guess that is part of God's goodness; he is constantly showing us more of who he is and what he has planned for us!

Anyhoo! I love you guys dearly and I'm so thankful for all of you! What is one thing that you're thankful for today?

- Sav